Im a young librarian in central Arkansas, and this blog is about my life, interests, goals, dreams, and favorite recipes! Blogging primarily about my life as someone with Hashimoto's who is gluten free and my new momhood.

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Friday, August 30, 2013

I started getting Barkbox last year when it was offered through Groupon. Barkbox is a subscription service for dogs that ranges in price from $19-$29 based on the number of months you subscribe. Each month your dog gets a box in the mail, based on its size, that includes treats, toys, accessories, and pet care items.

We have two dogs of our own, both around 25lbs, as well as my brother-in-law's pit bull who is 60lbs. We subscribe to the medium weight box and for the most part all dogs are happy with the selections in the box. This month we received 1 toy, 3 bags of treats, and a food topper. This month our box was worth $49.20.

The dogs have learned that every month they get a Barkbox and when they see the package they get super excited and start begging and trying to get into the box.

The Aussie Natural's neoprene dolphin was a huge hit! All three dogs love this toy and since it arrived they it has been their favorite. Of the treat/food items included, all were enjoyed by our dogs, but their favorites have been the Barkworthies Bully Flakes and the Plato duck treats.

You can tell by these pictures that our dogs are loving every minute of the unboxing (excuse the messy floor).

So my best friend and cousin by marriage, Whitney was blessed with the birth of her third child on Saturday August 24th. This day happen's to be Whitney's birthday so she received an extra special gift this year. I was excited to be there to see Lucy in the hospital only a few hours after she was born (I was also present for each of her brothers' hospital welcomes).

Friday, August 23, 2013

I wondered why my husband never knew what I was talking about when I mentioned Homecoming Mums! I didnt realize this is mainly a Texas tradition. I never had a date give me one, but my dad had me one made for the first Homecoming Dance I attended in high school. I had never seen the men's mums worn on the arm. In my town, men were given stuffed animals wearing the corsages for the Sadie Hawkins dance.
Some of my friends took their mums to the actual dance, but I just used mine for pictures and left it at home. It was too big to wear comfortably, although I know many peers who wore mums to the dance that were much much bigger than mine.
I now want to go find a picture of me and my mum.....wonder if I still have those pictures somewhere.
This is a fun article that took me down memory lane: http://jezebel.com/5965232/inside-the-weird-texas-tradition-of-enormous-homecoming-corsages/
(Hopefully pictures to come at a later date)

Saturday, August 17, 2013

I have been enamored with youtube videos lately, so I have a wild hair to try creating them myself. This is my first video and its pretty terrible, but I hope to plan out future videos so that they are better. My thoughts are to use my new vlog to review gluten free food items and as well as talk about things that interest me (much like I do on this blog). Essentially, my vlog will be a companion to my blog here.

Edit: I have since deleted the vlog I made that was included in this post. I think I will restrict my vloging to videos that are more like video slideshows for now. I just wasnt comfortable with the video of myself (edit added: 8/23/13).

Tuesday, August 13, 2013

So I have been gluten free for over 3 months now and I have to say that I must be lucky because I hear horror stories about all the terrible products out there. So far I have tried several gluten free brands and products and have been very pleased for the most part.

I would like to share my experiences with these brands for two reasons: 1.) I hope that this will help others on their gluten free journey and 2.) so I can remember these items in the future. None of these companies have contacted me for an endorsement and the only "gift" I have received has been some coupons that I requested because I love the items and wanted to purchase more.

Products I have Tried:

Wow Cookies (Chocolate Chip): I loved these cookies! They were soft and almost tasted like cookie dough.

Pamela's Mini Cookies (Chocolate Chip and Extreme Chocolate): These cookies were crunchy and a little smaller than the Wow cookies, but there are more in a bag. These cookies were delicious! I will say that the Extreme Chocolate tasted like it was a darker chocolate, but I generally dislike dark chocolate and I loved these cookies.

Annie's Berry Patch Fruit Snacks: I didnt like these at all. The texture was too gooey and they were so sweet that I couldnt taste the flavor.

GoPicnic Ready to Eat Meals (Turkey Pepperoni): These lunchable type meals were amazing! I ate everything in my meal and it was enough to satisfy me for lunch. These are definitely kid friendly because I had a 7 year old friend of my sneaking bits out of my lunch! (More detailed review of a variety of flavor s coming soon)

EnviroKidz (Lemur Peanut Choco Drizzle Bar): These were ok. I bought these for breakfast and I will eat them and probably buy them again, but I dont love them. They taste like a peanut butter rice crispy treat, which to me is more dessert than breakfast.

Amy's (Gluten Free Non Dairy Burrito, Garden Vegetable Lasagna, Indian Palak Paneer): I love Amy's products! Not all of her products are gluten free, but she does have a large selection and all the packages are very clearly marked. I ate the burritos with salsa and I couldnt tell the difference between these and a regular frozen burrito. The lasagna was good, but I prefer more cheese on my lasagna than was in this dish. The portion was good, but the noodles were a little odd (im still getting used to gluten free noodles). My favorite frozen dinner is the Palak Paneer. In fact, it was one of my favorites before even switching to a gluten free diet. If you love spinach, you will love this frozen dinner! I contacted Amy's via email to rave about their products and they sent me a ton of coupons, so never be afraid to ask for them!

I will post more Gluten Free favorites as I try new things! What are your favorite gluten free products?